Saturday, June 28, 2014

Figuring out Italian colors...

This is definitely not France...last summer, I painted with lots of indigo blue--for the first time-- for stormy skies, windows...but Italy and Civita have a completely different color palette. When I was here last summer, it took me nearly a week to figure out that I needed some raw sienna (I finally learned the color has 2 n's, the town has 1 n)...and I'm still figuring out the color for the shadows and what our subjects should be for the sketching workshop starting next week. I'm also spending a lot of time learning the history of Civita for my fellowship project, an architectural walking guide to the town.I kept this sketchsimple in terms of linework...in terms of color, it has lots of raw sienna, and the shadows are all grays made with ultramarine blue and burnt siena...still figuring it out and getting warmed up.Several people stopped by and said they wanted to buy it, and I just laughed...one wanted me to cut it out of my sketchbook!!The bells in nearby Lubriano are chiming across the valley, it is hot and there is not a cloud in the sky, and I can hear the bees buzzing in the lavender...